


Love and Death

by Qwerty6892



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Yagami Light Is Not Kira (Death Note), Fluff and Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, Yotsuba Arc (Death Note)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29766264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qwerty6892/pseuds/Qwerty6892
Summary: Au where Light isn't Kira*******Kira is on a killing spree. Light, a brilliant honors student, and L, a genius- yet extremely eccentric- detective must work together to find him. Will they survive? Will they catch Kira? Will something unprecedented happen... Such as falling in love?
Relationships: L/Yagami Light
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, fellow shippers! This your standard light is not Kira Au. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this!

Light was scared, which was a strange feeling for the sheltered honor student. Granted, it was justified, because he was trying to hunt down a sociopath who could kill you just by knowing your name and face.  
He clutched the hand of the enigmatic, brilliant man next to him. L. That single letter was now the most important thing to him.  
"Light."  
He turned to L. He was like a shooting star- so rare, but so beautiful.  
"If we don't get out of this alive, just know that I..."


	2. The First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Light meets an eccentric man named L, who claims he is a world famous detective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Enjoy!

Several months earlier

***

There was a downside to being a genius, Light thought. Sure, it made his life easy. But that was just it. There was no challenge in Light's life. Which made it incredibly boring.   
_I wish something exciting would happen. Something challenging. Something new. Something-_

"Student 162, please sit properly at your desk!" Light turned around, and he came across a strange sight. The boy sitting behind him, for whatever reason, had his feet up on the desk. It didn't escape Light's notice that that wasn't the only strange thing about him. The boy had messy, jet black hair, and he had bags under his eyes. But what stood out most were his eyes. Despite looking sleep deprived, his eyes were sharp and alert. No, this boy wasn't normal. But then, Light hated normal.   
************

Unsuprisingly, Light had gotten perfect scores in all the sections of the test. However, one other student had also done it. Meaning that he and the other student would give the address that the student who scored highest on the exam was supposed to give. They called Light's name, so he walked up to the stage. "And freshman representative, Hideki Ryuga."

Hideki Ryuga, like the pop star? There was no way that he could get into To-Oh, let alone get the highest score.

"Oh that's me."

He looked around to see who spoke. It was none other than the peculiar man who sat behind him during the exam. For some reason, he hadn't even bothered to dress nicely, and wore a white shirt, sweatpants, and worn out sneakers. Yep, this guy was weird.

******

After they gave the speech, "Hideki" began talking to Light. At first, he thought Hideki was just being polite, but it became apparent that he had other intentions. He said personal details about Light that he shouldn't have known- like how his father was police chief, how Light had a strong sense of justice, and how Light was interested in the Kira case. _Who the hell is this guy?_ Light thought. “If you promise not to tell anyone, I have important information concerning the Kira investigation .” The strange man said.

Important information about the Kira investigation? As weirded out as he was by this guy, he had to know as much as he could about Kira.

“I won’t tell anyone. What is it?” The man looked over to him and said,

“I wanted to tell you that I’m L.”

***

FLASHBACK

Light was sitting in his room, studying when the report came on TV.

“We now take you live to the ICPO.”

The screen then showed a black haired man who sat behind a card with the words “Lind L. Tailor.” He spoke about how Kira was evil and how he was going to catch him.

 _Is he insane?_ Light thought. If Kira was real, then taunting him on live TV like this was a death sentence. It didn’t surprise Light at all when the man dropped dead. But what did surprise him was when the letter “L” popped up on a screen, and a synthesized voice began speaking. The voice revealed that Lind L. Tailor was merely a stand in, and that the real L was alive and well. And the fact that Kira just killed Lind L. Tailor revealed not only that Kira existed, but that he was in the Kanto region, and that he needed a face to kill. L had proved all this simultaneously. Light Yagami was amazed. L then became his idol...

***

Was this man really L? The man he idolized was sitting right next to him?

“If you are who you say you are, then you have nothing but my respect and admiration.”

 _Why does that make my stomach feel weird?_ L thought. “Thank you. The reason I chose to reveal my identity to you is because I think you could be of some help of us on the Kira investigation.”

 _There’s only a 5% chance that you are Kira,_ L thought. _But something tells me that I am not wrong to suspect you._ Before they could say anymore, people began getting up and leaving, so they followed suit.

“Hey Light?”

“Yeah?”

“See you.”

Light found himself staring at the spot L occupied for a few minutes before heading home. For the rest of the night, Light found that he couldn’t stop thinking of the man who claimed to be L... 


	3. Suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> L reveals that he really is L... and that Light is his prime suspect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters will just be retellings of the original story, with some tweaks for it to make sense. Don’t worry; we’ll get into the good stuff soon!

“I never thought you’d ask me to play tennis as a way to get to know each other!” Light said.  
The 2 men were at the tennis court. L had invited Light to a game of tennis as a way to get to know each other- or so it seemed. L’s true intentions were to try to analyze Light Yagami- or, potentially, Kira.  
“Did you know how good I was when you invited me to play?”  
“Yes. I’ll be fine, though. I was once the British junior champion.”  
“Oh! Are you from Britain?” Light asked politely.  
_Is he trying to profile me to find out more about him because I’m Kira?_ L thought. Well, it couldn’t hurt to say.  
“I lived in Britain for 5 years, but save your breath. There’s nothing in that story to reveal L’s true identity.”  
_Yikes, it was just a question._

****  
They began playing tennis. Soon, people had gathered around to watch the 2 men who could play tennis like pros- who also incidentally scored the highest of the entrance exams.  
_Is this really L, or is this an elaborate prank? I need proof that he really is L,_ Light thought.  
_He’ll want proof that I really am L, so we have to go to headquarters to get confirmation that I am L_ , L thought, as Light finally beat L.  
***  
“That was a good game! You really are good at tennis. Oh and also, there is something that I want to ask you.”  
“Thank you, and there is something that I should tell you.”  
“What is it?”  
“I suspect that you, Light Yagami, are Kira.”  
Light stopped. L thought he was Kira? He thought he was a sociopathic monster with a god complex?  
_Why does that sting so much?_  
“You think I’m Kira?”  
“It’s only a 1% possibility.” L said reassuringly.   
_For some reason, I hope that he isn’t Kira. I wonder why._  
“You are clearly very intelligent, and once that I can confirm that you’re not Kira, I would like you to work with me on this investigation.”  
***  
They sat in a discreet corner of the coffee shop where no one would overhear them.  
“So, what did you want to ask me?”  
“It can wait till you’re sure that I am not Kira. We can talk about what ever you want.”  
“Would you mind if I tested your reasoning abilities?”  
“Not at all! Sounds fun!”  
L handed him 3 notes.  
“These were written by Kira victims right before they died. Tell me what you think.”  
Light looked them over and said, “Well, if you arrange it like this, it says, ‘L, did you know Gods of death love apples?’ But that sounds incomplete.”   
Realization dawned on Light. “Wait, there wouldn’t have happened to be a fourth note, would there?”  
L raised an eyebrow. There were truthfully only 3 notes, but the only other person who knew that was Kira.  
_Either Light anticipated things further then I thought, or he genuinely isn’t Kira. If he isn’t Kira, then... consider me impressed. You’re pretty smart, Light. Now the probability of you being Kira is only 0.6%. Still, I have to know for sure._  
“In fact there is a fourth photograph,” L said pulling it out. It was a fake. “When you add it, it reads ‘L, did you know gods of death who love apples have red hands.’ Perfect deduction, Light.”  
Light brightened. “Thank you, Ryuga. But anyways, this won’t lead us to Kira. Why would he put incriminating evidence on these notes? Besides, Gods of death aren’t real.”  
At that moment, both of their phones rang. When they picked up, their eyes widened simultaneously.  
“Light it’s your-“  
“My father, he had a heart attack!”  
***  
They sat in the hospital room. Souichiro was fine- it turns out that stress was the only cause, not Kira.  
“You’ve been pushing yourself hard lately. It must have added to your stress that your son was suspected of being Kira.” L said.  
“Wait, you told him that?” Said Light.  
“Yes. I’ve told him everything. He even knows I am L.”  
“That’s right.” Souichiro said. “This man is L. On the task force, we refer to him as Ryuzaki, but make no mistake, this man is L.”  
_So he really is L. He’s the man that I’ve been idolizing for the past few months. Not that I’m disappointed- he may be strange, but he’s clearly competent._  
“Ryuga, I’d like to help with this investigation. Someone like Kira shouldn’t be on the loose. Also, it will help me prove that I’m not him.”  
“Light, you have to finish studying to become a police officer-“ Souichiro began  
“That’ll take years! Also, remember my promise- If something happened to you, I would catch Kira.”  
_Kira, if you dare harm my family, I will end you._  
***  
They walked outside of the hospital, but Light stopped.  
“Ryuga, what would it take to convince you I’m not Kira?”  
L turned around. “If you aren’t Kira, then it won’t be necessary. Justice will run its course naturally.”  
“What if you locked me up in a place without TV or contact with the outside world? Would you be convinced then?”  
“I can’t deprive you of basic human rights, Light.”  
“Right. Oh and, I know I agreed to help with the investigation, but I won’t be able to do much until dad’s better.”  
“Oh. Fair enough.” L didn’t understand why he felt disappointed. Maybe because he wouldn’t be able to spend time with Light...  
So he could study him. Right.  
“Goodbye, Light.”  
_L, you are truly something else._ Light thought as he watched L drive off.  
_Light, for some reason, I really hope that you are not Kira._  
L thought as he drove off.


End file.
